Testimonials

What our Employers think.............

“As an ex-serviceman myself, it’s truly amazing to witness first-hand how much the guys at BuildForce invest in signposting service leavers and veterans towards the construction industry.  If anyone in my military network is thinking about construction as a second career, make yourself known to ‘Caroline Logan’ and her team!  They will look after you.  I’m also more than happy to chat about any queries or questions you might have related to gaining a foothold in the industry.”  Chris, Hercules Site Services

“Outstanding, the massive success of BuildForce, shows that there was a definite need for a smart programme to connect, mentor and employ Service Leaves and Veterans to the construction sector….and long may it continue” Ian, Chapman Ventilation

“Turner & Townsend have worked with BuildForce since the start of 2018. As employers of talented built environment professionals, we have been impressed with the quality of men and women introduced to us.  Any veterans looking to get a head start, using BuildForce to receive an introduction to Turner & Townsend’s Armed Force’s network is great step to include on your resettlement plan.”  Jonathan, Turner & Townsend

“The thanks is always to you. Without your hard work and efforts neither Corey nor I would be in a position to present. The day was fantastic and really well put together.  Always happy to step up and help wherever I can. I know Dewet is also keen to discuss his experiences…” Paul, EK HS2

 “Great to be involved, and humbling to be in the presence of some high Calibre individuals who have served not just our country, but everyone who lives in it. These people deserve the help of our fabulous industry, it’s not a gamble employing our service leavers, more a sound investment for your business.”  Anthony, HE Simm

What our Service Leavers and Veterans think.......

I arrived at RAF Cosford Insight Day armed with copies of my CV, an open mind and absolutely no construct experience at all. I left with valuable insights, new connections and a promise of a phone call. That call came through as promised, and after a few more discussions and a Zoom interview, I am pleased to say I have provisionally secured a role with Mace on HS2.
In addition to the insight day, Caroline and Angela work tirelessly in the background finding connections and role that are right for you.  There are added benefits of mental health support, virtual discussions on specific roles and work areas, and mentoring available.
Listening to David Richmond CBE (the independent veteran’s advisor to the Cabinet Office) during the introduction speeches was refreshing positive about veterans.  His narrative to government is one of acknowledging that some Service leaver have issues and need support, however the vast majority (13,500) are highly skilled, highly motivated and have wealth of experience and training, all of which are easily transferable.
In short, I cannot recommend the Build Force Programme enough, thank you”.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank you both and BuildForce for the extraordinary support and guidance provided. Once onboard with BuildForce I immediately felt the traction behind the connections you made on my behalf. With regards to the resettlement process and the network links that BuildForce provided, the opportunity to have those conversations with the right people in the industry was a true game-changer, simply superb.”

“I can confirm that I found the event at Manchester last week to be fantastic.  I am from a construction background and was trying to think ‘outside of the box’ with regards to future employment and possibly steer away from the industry, however this event absolutely made up my mind to concentrate my efforts solely on employment in construction.  So a huge thank you to you and your team for helping me with my decision making process.

I thought that the ex mil speakers added real value to the day, especially those who were originally from a non-construction background. 

I maximized the opportunity and spoke with most of the stands, all of whom I can confirm were extremely useful and great ambassadors for their respective companies that they were representing.  The mix of ex-military and recruiters on each stand was a particular area of success.”

“I just wanted to thank you for today. Today’s insight day exceeded my expectations and I feel I got a lot from it. I have been on various career insight days in the past and walked away with a fuzzy head and not knowing what direction to go. 

I am keen and eager to progress myself into the construction industry and feel positive that with help from yourself and your team I can be successful.”

“I strongly recommend that all service leavers register their interest with BuildForce and attend one of their brilliant Insight days. Regardless of your background and experience there are fantastic opportunities for all within the construction industry. Caroline Logan and her team will provide advice/guidance, match you with a mentor from industry and support you through your transition. I attended the event in Manchester yesterday and was absolutely blown away by the opportunities available. I would like to offer a huge thank you to those that I spoke with who left me feeling exceptionally positive and a tad excited. You are great ambassadors for your respective companies.”

“Hello Caroline, quick line to say many thanks for organising today’s event, really, really useful. In particular to be able to speak to recruiters directly and understand what they are looking for etc while refining thinking about future options. I got my CV in with Mace, Morgan Sindall, T&T and Wates and had some good conversations.”

Firstly, I must say how useful this event was and how insightful it was too. Each stand was positive and helpful, so a well worth experience for myself as a service leaver. 

I will see what transpires Caroline from my interaction with each company, i know your very keen to help the forces and that came across on the day which is great to hear so if I hit a few brick walls then I might message you later in the year as I just want to keep the ball rolling. 

All in all a very well run day and a very productive day so well done from me.”

“Thank you so much for all your hard work organising, staging, and running yesterday’s fantastic Insight Day. I met all the people I had hoped to, having done my research beforehand, checking out their websites and so forth, as well as several people I hadn’t intended to target.”

“Firstly thank you both and all the BuildForce members for the support to the veteran community. I can definitely say, I appreciate the opportunity this provides as will every service leaver/veteran who attended. I sincerely wish this quality of support was more widely & frequently available and the BuildForce initiative continues to grow. It was a fantastic day and a bigger venue would be very much in order for the next time. Fantastic event by WATES and they have set the standards high in this case.”

“Once again then, very many thanks for presenting me – and all the other vets and service leavers – with such wonderful opportunities. I do think the construction industry and the military are a perfect match!”

“I thought it was worth thanking you and your team for your help throughout. The contacts I have made and the willingness to assist from all the industry partners, made my transition a fairly smooth one and that’s purely down to the BuildForce organisation”

“So I wanted to write and give you my thoughts as someone just having gone through career transition; I left the Army on the 31st August and am due to start a new job in 2 weeks.

In short, I think that BuildForce is an excellent initiative for supporting ex-Service personnel in finding employment in the construction and infrastructure fields.  My recent experience suggests that both fields provide a huge range of opportunities in terms of diversity of skills and also throughout the rank range, which is great for when taking those daunting steps towards finding a job.  I also think that the style of support is excellent, in particular, Caroline Logan, who was absolutely first class.  She worked tirelessly at constantly gaining me new contacts and ferreting out new ideas and opportunities, and from having spoken to a number of other friends also engaged through BuildForce I know this is a universal positive feedback.”

“Over a year ago, my engagement as a service leaver with Buildforce has massively transformed my life and I feel it is only right if I share with you my success and joy as Quantity Surveyor.

With your outstanding network, I was fortunate enough to come into contact with Nicholas Websdell (BuildForce Mentor) who did everything possible to get my first shot into the construction industry with John Murphy & Sons Ltd. Under Nick’s tutelage and continued support, I have gained confidence, risen up to challenges and responsibilities and a great insight into the construction world.

The results of this has seen me winning the just ended Chartered Institute of Civil Engineering Surveyors (CICES) New Professional Publishing Award 2019. An award conceived by Robert Hornes, a successful Construction Legal Practitioner.

I would like to say a big thanks to you and Nick for getting me where I am today and I hope one day I can be an ambassador to future ex service personnel”

“Good morning Caroline, I am messaging you out of the blue to say what a successful and influential company you have developed over these past few years and your company support has helped so many individuals. I know that I did and still do appreciate the support BuildForce gave me when I was looking for a role in the construction industry, for once I am not looking for anything other than just wanting to show my appreciation for BuildForce’s previous and continuous help to other service leavers and veterans.”

“Thanks for today, what I found best was the one on one time.  Everyone had good advice for me and also pointed out avenues for me to go down that I hadn’t thought of before.”

“Thank you for today, I found the whole event really useful. The employers were all helpful and engaging. The mixture of ex-military and civilian perspectives was also useful to judge if I have civilianized my CV and pitch. I would definitely recommend it to others.”

“The day was excellent in my eyes. It had a good ratio of attendees to employers which meant no one was standing around for long.  My main criticism of other Armed Forces events has been that it is full of HR people who don’t know much of the technical detail for the roles I was enquiring about. Thankfully there was no such issue today. All the stands had a HR rep supported by a construction person to ensure all questions could be answered in an accurate and articulate way as well as giving sound advice. Also they were the decision makers who could actually fast track good candidates to the right people. I am very glad I could make the event and I have made some excellent contacts as a result. “

“Thanks for including me today to what was a timely and extremely useful event which broadened my horizons as I start my transition journey. The presentations hit the mark and I appreciated the willingness of both veterans to openly discuss their experiences leading up to and securing employment. Representatives that I engaged with were very supportive and I will follow up with emails this evening.  Having finished work on Friday, I have a couple months of paid leave to scope options and would welcome opportunities to spend time with some of the organisations represented today.”

“Thanks for the insight day, I had a great day meeting potential employers and getting great feedback from them with my experiences, and how I could possibly fit into their company.”

“Thanks for organising yesterday. I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to hear success stories from veterans that had recently transitioned. The opportunity to speak to such a number and diverse range of companies was invaluable and I feel very fortunate to have been able to partake in the day. I made a number of connections that I will be following up. I feel very positive about securing more meetings, coffees and in good time work experience opportunities.  Thanks again for your continued help and support.”

“Many thanks to you and the team, the day was a great insight to civilian life, the recruiters/ employers were great and dispelled a lot of myths that I had about what they look for when reading CVs and about the interview process.  Also some inspirational speakers. “

“First of all, thank you very much for a very useful and insightful day yesterday at Cosford. If only I came across you guys when I did my resettlement.

I found the information with timings and location very clear and precise. The event was run to the point, with no fuss and with maximum time to engage with the employers present. I have no recommendations for improvement, only huge praise to you and the team.”

”Great day today at BuildForce’s 5th Armed Forces insight day. It was a unique experience having the ability to sit down and have an informal chat with some of the big players in the construction industry, and with people who have a genuine interest in what skills ex-forces personnel can provide. Made some valuable contacts and hopefully an opportunity for the future.”

 “…can I say a genuine thank you for all of the contacts, information and events that you provided.  I have found them incredibly useful even if, this time, they have not lead to a job.  That said, one of the options that has opened up to me is contracting under my own business, and I will definitely continue looking at Construction Logistics and pre-project planning should I follow that route – so you may yet get me into the industry! I had not considered construction at all prior to signing up with you.  Thank you again -the experience and contacts that I have gained through Buildforce were genuinely useful and had HS2 in particular been at a slightly more advanced stage this would have certainly provided me with some solid opportunities.” 

“Thank you for organising the event, it was great. I mostly appreciated talking to the ex-military leavers as they gave a real insight into the resettlement process in general and not just BuildForce. All of the companies there were very receptive and many offered opportunities of interest. I think I have a couple of opportunities to set up a work placement before xmas which was my aim.”

Just wanted to say very many thanks for a superb day on Thursday in Reading. The event was terrific and I found it extremely worthwhile. I made contact with everyone I wanted to, and have various follow-up actions now to do.  Phil’s introductory talk struck a real chord and I enjoyed a good chat with him later in the day. Similarly with other players such as Roger Morton, Mike Robb, Jessica from Skanska, HE’s John Kerner and more.  I am looking forward to taking these and other contacts further during the course of next week, but wanted first to say this heartfelt thank you to you and your team for organising the event.”

“Many thanks for bringing direct job opportunities close to both serving and veterans of the British Armed Forces. The greatest part of the conference was to hear colleagues sharing similar challenges as well as successes stories between the transition point to civilian life.  It’s been very challenging for me finding a starting point, however, I am very hopeful that the right time will come if I do not give up and keep searching.  I am interested in Procurement, Logistics, Transport or Supply Chain Management. Thank you.”

“It was impressive to learn how ex forces could bridge the talent gap lacking within the built environment. It is to say, ex forces have the right skills and required mind set to shape values and contribute to industrial vision. However, right attitude and tenacity to change traditional norms could for example help contribute to sustainable future within the industry. A huge thanks to Caroline Logan and the BuildForce team for a fantastic event. Finally, thanks John Kerner for opening up opportunities which Highways England got to offer for ex service personnel.”

I would just like to say Thank you to yourself, Caroline and the rest of the Buildforce team for yesterday’s event – I’ll be honest I was sceptical about commuting all the way from Scotland to attend the event as I didn’t know if it would have been any use to me – but I’m so glad I committed to it and came. The speeches, Phil and Darren did were of massive value to myself, especially Phil’s – it put my worries at ease reference CVs and companies not getting back to me, and the situation with HR teams and Hiring managers. I have also already made new network connections and are in communication with a couple of relevant persons for what I want to do when I leave the army.”

I thought this was a fantastic event.  I gained so much from the day, coming away from it with so much information and a few follow up emails to write.  Although I am 11 months from leaving, I felt this was exactly the correct time to attend the insight day.”

“Just a quick note to thank you very much for organising yesterday’s event, which I found invaluable.  Specifically, I ascertained that some (not all) construction companies are willing to consider non-specialist directors such as myself, which is really encouraging, and I am working on a number of follow-ups.  I will keep you posted.”

Apologies for adding to your inbox but I just wanted to express my thanks for yesterday’s insight day. It was my first real step towards making the leap and I’m feeling increasingly positive about the move. As discussed, I’ve not been through your registration process yet but look forward to speaking to one of your team when you have a minute – I’m not out until summer next year so it’s no mad rush.”

“A quick line to say thank you for yesterday, what a great day.  I mentioned to my wife last night that I always come back from Buildforce events with so much energy and positivity and that is down to the energy you both bring. Thank you for your support and continued help it is greatly appreciated.”

A small note to wish you a big thank you! I found today’s insight day invaluable and you laid it on with such style.  I like to think I exploited every minute of the day… and certainly got ‘value for money’ from it!  I am sure Josie was throwing me out at the end!!!  John and I had a very useful follow-on chat which carried on all the way to the station. Anyway, I think I have mentioned it before, but I am genuinely grateful for all of your help and guidance. I shall look forward to future discussion”

Just dropping you a message reference feedback for the insight event last Thursday.  Firstly I would like to say thank you for inviting me, I found the day really useful and insightful, but at the same time not too formal, which was a really nice balance. Hearing other people’s stories really helped me feel comfortable looking for positions that I had not previously considered, and that I am doing the right thing looking industry wide, I had been lacking in confidence in relation to this so it was great to get that boost. I also really enjoyed having the opportunity to speak to people within the industry without being in an interview situation, making it much easier to ask questions, I made a few connections and I am hoping these will provide me with further insight. I’m also excited about the other ways in which you guys may be able to help and support me as I attempt to find my way into the construction industry.  Thanks again, it was a really worthwhile event that I found both useful and enjoyable.”

“Thank you for hosting the insight day on Thursday.  By way of feedback I found the day to be informative and interesting, with the individual case studies and briefs proving to be great introduction for someone who has recently made the decision to leave.  All round a very useful and enjoyable day.  I had my induction interview with Angela Forbes on Friday which again proved to be very useful and hopefully is the start of my route into the construction industry.”